Since Edison's invention of the incandescent lamp, lighting has never been the same. The “light bulb,” as they have come to be known, is perhaps one of the most ubiquitous and most little thought of elements in modern society. The whole system has become standardized in design and construction so that standard sockets are installed in new homes that will fit a standard bulb, lamps use standard bulbs of a given size, and new lighting fixtures feature sockets fitting whatever type of standard bulb the purchaser desires. The technology is very simple and light bulbs are mass produced to the point where consumers think nothing of just throwing away burnt out bulbs and going to the local grocery store to buy more.
However, society has become more energy and recourse conscious. As a result, consumers demand more efficient and longer lasting lighting solutions. Some governments are even considering banning incandescent bulbs. To this effect, halogen and compact fluorescent bulbs have been developed for consumer use. Halogens, unfortunately, do not use the standard bulb sockets that are present in almost every home and office. Compact fluorescents do use standard sockets and do use less energy, but they tend to be larger and are also meant to be disposed as a unit when the bulb reaches the end of its useful life. The disposal of the compact fluorescence lamp also results in environmental issues since they contain mercury.
LED's have recently been investigated as more efficient and environmental friendly light source. The present invention is an LED sourced light bulb where the LEDs are mounted upon a stable and replaceable frame, thereby reducing resources lost in disposal and associated cost. The present invention represents a departure from the prior art in that the light bulbs of the present invention allows for replacement of just the LED light source while retaining the majority of the body of the bulb. The present invention may be adapted for any type of socket interface, and it is preferred to use the standard light bulb socket, which would allow for interchange with the majority of sockets in the US and worldwide.